I was going to present, simply, "Deli", but the term encompasses any number of cuisines in different regions, especially both Jewish (sometimes "Kosher") and the more generic sandwich bar.

Here we B's have loads of choices, but there's good news and there's bad news, staple-wise.

Staples: Bad News:

1. Grains: You'll find rye flour in your favorite breads for those famous sandwiches, and both buckwheat and barley could make their appearances. Just say No.

2. Fats: Lots of questionable oils: Watch out for shortenings in doughs of breads, cakes, strudels, knishes, pie crusts, and some blintzes, as well as for Chicken Fat in meat/other dishes. This Oil-Issue can cause some scrupulous B's to avoid mayonnaises, in which case one may request that sandwiches not be smeared with it. However, various composed salads are held together with mayo, so I've placed an asterisk (*) beside those offerings for your convenience.

Staples: Good News:

1. Grains: If you're not avoiding wheat for, perhaps, weight control reasons, you may order white, sourdough or egg breads, or bagels. More likely to be appropriate for the shortening-wary: Scones, coffee cakes, crumpets and english muffins, brioches and croissants, popovers, muffins, some pancakes/blintzes using butter.

2. Oils: If it's a Kosher Deli, you will benefit from the long tradition of "Dairy" cuisine. This means that fish and other non-meat dishes will not be using a favorite Jewish oil: Chicken Fat.

Beneficial

Proteins: Fishes: Pike (dominant or exclusive fish in Gefulte fish), Sardines

Dairy: Cottage cheese (served with fresh fruit salad or in Blintzes: Fine if composed/fried in butter). Ricotta may rear its head in those blintzes (and in a certain dessert...).

Beans: Sometimes: Lima beans, in soups or dishes

Vegetables: Eggplant (salad/spread, not to be confused with Mediterranean "Baba Ghanoush", which is "Avoid" and not available in Deli's, usually). Also: Brussels Sprouts may accompany a winter Hot Turkey Platter (wishful thinking?). Cabbage, usually in Slaw*, also in Sauerkraut. Beets, especially in "Borscht", but be careful: Some Borscht contains tomatoes, some is based upon a chicken, rather than a beef or vegetable, stock. There's also a Jewish dish called "Tzimmes", which is composed of long-stewed vegetables: Often includes Carrots, maybe even Sweet Potatoes, as well as raisins/prunes.

Fruits: Fruit salads may contain Grapes and/or Bananas. Also: Bananas may be requested over Blintzes or French Toast.

Condiments: Horseradish (If it's in a creamy spread or sauce, however, it might contain CORN syrup: Read the label), Cranberry Sauce/Relish

Beverages: Green Tea? (Even Lipton and Snapple market it, in one form or another)

Neutral

Protein: Turkey, Beef (corned beef, pastrami, sliced roast beef, "flanken", tongue, liver, nitrate-free Salami and Frankfurters); If this is a sandwich bar, and you're following Tier One, Ham might be an option; Bacon likewise, as in "Club" sandwich. Neutral Fishes, often in composed salads (and bear in mind these are usually Smoked, which feature you may or may not want to be avoiding. Salmon, Halibut and Sturgeon, though "Beneficial" when NOT smoked, show up here). The above fishes, along with whitefish and herring. Tuna Salad* and Egg salad*. Carp (in some Gefulte Fish recipes)

Omelets/scrambled eggs, in butter only. Hardboiled eggs.

Dairy: Cheeses, incl. Cream cheese (again, present in a favorite Deli dessert...), as well as Swiss, etc. Sour Cream. Butter. Cream.

Grains: Breads and bread stuffing and pudding. Rice and rice pudding.

Beans/Legumes: Split peas (in a Kosher deli, a Split Pea Soup will not contain Ham)

Vegetables: The usual. Also, potatoes (in pancakes, in potato salad*, as well as mashed when served with hot entrée). Pickles. Onion, Lettuce, String Beans, etc.

Fruit: Apple (sauce), raisins and dates, blueberries

Beverages: Coffee and iced; Tea and iced; Herb tea; Beer.

Avoid

Protein: Chicken, Chicken Fat, Chicken Broth, Chicken Livers. Beef Brisket (usually seared in chicken fat and/or stewed for hours in tomatoes). Ham/Bacon if you're following Tier Two. Lox likewise.

Grain: Buckwheat (Kasha), Rye (bread), Barley (soups etc.) Corn (cornmeal in macaroons, cornstarch in "chiffon" and some other pie fillings).

Beans/Legumes: Lentils

Vegetables: Tomatoes (watch for hidden in soups and sauces, including brisket soups/sauces, stuffed cabbage, tomato sauces, ketchup, Russian/1000-island dressing)

Spices: Cinnamon (in many pastries)

Nuts/Seeds: Poppy seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds.

Beverages: Soda.

Orders

-Gefulte Fish with Horseradish condiment
-Beet Borscht (if tomato- and chicken broth-free)
-Neutral Sandwich on unseeded bread/roll, with lettuce, onion, pickle, mustard, even cole slaw or cranberry relish. "Club Sandwich", if on Tier One
-Reuben, Patty- or Tuna- melt (Not on Rye), with cole slaw/sauerkraut (no Russian/Thousand Island dressing)
-Roast Turkey Dinner, with Baked or mashed potato or, better, yams; cranberry sauce (brussels sprouts?)
-Nitrate-free Beef Frank with Mustard and Sauerkraut
-Brioche or Challah French Toast (say, "No Cinnamon, please")
-Cottage or Ricotta Cheese Blintzes with Bananas (butter-fried)(Ditto re: Cinnamon)
-Eggplant Salad/spread, if tomato-free
- Chef Salad without tomatoes (Tier One can have the ham, or even Bacon in a Cobb Salad, in which Tier Two adherents must request a substitution for this as well as for the Blue Cheese)
-Fruit Salad with Cottage Cheese
-Condiments: Mustard, mayonnaise*, Horseradish (see "Beneficial" above)
-Serious New York Cheesecake.

Live and Be Well.

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This week in the News (Bear with me, youngsters):

As Americans celebrate the promotion of my US district's congresswoman to Speaker of the House, here's a cute response to a line I heard on the News last night:

"...the new Speaker is expected to anounce plans for the make-up of the Congress..."

Reply: "I'm thinking Maybelline's Great Lash Mascara in assorted shades"...

Hyuk hyuk. Nancy will forgive it: With the right inflection, it's a distinctly San Francisco-friendly chuckle!

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My own milestone: One year of blogging here.

Here we shall plunge into the matter of so-called "BBQ", a type of restaurant one comes across in the USA, one posing a particularly knotty problem for B's, for reasons that shall be quite obvious. "Beneficials" are usually very limited, and "Avoids" abound. Use this guide especially if you're dining with others who have their hearts set on BBQ fare, unless you've found one that allows you to order more liberally. Note that sometimes we accidentally stumble upon a "wrong"-cuisine restaurant that makes the perfect broiled beefburger or salmon sandwich!

At most BBQ restaurants, your staple starch is Corn. Cornbread is the usual mopper-up of (tomato/ketchup-based) sauce (and Corn-on-the-cob is the usual "vegetable"). Because the meat supplies its own fat, even if the sauce is tomato-free, that meat has got to be, at the very least, "neutral", which it often is not. The following is the best we B's can do at MOST Barbecue-type eateries. Do order an especially good dessert if you like.

Beneficials

Proteins: Salmon, if available

Vegetables: Cabbage (slaw), carrots

Fruit: Maybe pineapple?

Neutrals

Protein: Beef (only if NOT cooked in tomato-based sauce!), Pork, likewise, and only on Tier One

Veg: Compliant salad and/or vegetable(s)

Beverage: Beer, wine, coffee, tea; Liquor (if Tier One only)

Avoids

Protein: Chicken; Pork (if on Tier Two)

Veg: Tomato BBQ sauce/ketchup

Grain: Corn (on the cob and in bread)

Orders

Broiled or Grilled Burger/Steak/Fish, probably with baked potato (sour cream fine) or steamed rice, and compliant vegetable and/or salad.

Key Lime Pie?

Glad the series is being appreciated; More to come, and Happy 2007.

I will be presenting a series of Blogs treating of restaurant offerings suitable for B secretors, with key questions to ask oneself and one's waiter/chef at each ethnicity of eatery.

First: In all cases, decide in advance whether this is a "special treat"/once-in-a-blue-moon occasion, or a regular occurrence.

Second: Do you follow the Blood Type Diet at Tier One? or the more restricted Tier Two? or otherwise?

Having established these two personal criteria, you'll learn to evaluate a cuisine according to its two major staples: Its grain(s) and its fat(s). These will determine whether you may enjoy bread(s), noodles, and the like, and whether you may order sautéed/fried foods or must stick to grilled/roasted/broiled or steamed dishes.

Then, for each Cuisine: Beneficials, Neutrals, and Avoids will be broadly outlined, and, finally, under "Orders" will be listed some sample compliant dishes.

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Restaurant Ordering Guide for Blood Type B

Part 1: MEXICAN CUISINE

Mexican cuisine, wonderful as it is, boasts of several pitfalls for those with blood type B:

First: A staple grain is Corn, found in corn tortillas, corn chips (nachos) and cornmeal (tamales), as well as in corn oil, which brings us to ...

Second: Along with corn oil, Lard is a staple oil in most Mexican restaurants and is equally off-limits for most compliance levels for B. You may be lucky enough to find a Mexican restaurant that features lard-free cuisine. Do ask what is used instead: It might be another off-limits oil, such as safflower or peanut.

Canola is acceptable in extenuating circumstances, being an "avoid" at Tier Two, and to be used "infrequently" otherwise.

Beyond these "Avoid" staples, many more distinctives of Mexican cuisine are off-limits to the compliant B. However, forearmed with the following guidelines, one can find something delicious and nourishing to eat at a good Mexican restaurant.

Beneficials

Protein: Salmon, Halibut, Cod, Mahi Mahi -- other fishes

Veg: Peppers (bell, jalapeno, et al)

Fruit: Watermelon, Banana

Neutrals

Protein: Beef, Fishes, Pork (Tier One only)

Dairy: Eggs, cheeses, sour cream

Grain: Rice, white flour tortillas

Veg: Jicama, onion, lettuce...

Fruit: Lime, orange...

Condiment: Cilantro...

Dessert: Flan custard...

Beverage: Wine/Sangria, Beer, Coffee, Liquor (Tier One only)

Avoids

Protein: Chicken, Pork (Tier Two), Shellfish

Grain: Corn, cornmeal, corn tortillas, nacho chips, tacos, tamales

Oil: Lard, corn oil, other oils (ask!)

Beans/Legumes: Black beans, pinto beans

Nuts/Seeds: Pumpkin ("pepitas")

Veg: Tomato, olives

Fruit: Avocado

Condiments: Tomato salsa, tomato sauces, guacamole

Beverage: Margarita (Tier Two)

Orders:

Scallop Ceviche (no tomato)

Cheese Omelet with peppers and onions (no tomatoes, no salsa)(ask what oil is used)

Cheese Enchilada (on flour tortilla)(no tomato sauce or guacamole)(ask if oil is used...)

Grilled Steak Quesadilla on flour tortilla

Vegetable Quesadilla on flour tortilla

Grilled Steak or (benef. if possible Fish Fajitas (no beans, tomato, or guacamole) with peppers and onions GRILLED, not sautéed, and with rice that has no tomatoes in it: Ask!

Chile Rellenos (no sauce)

Grilled (not sautéed) Fish or Steak with (tomato-free) rice and/or salad, and STEAMED vegetables

Watermelon Aguafresca

Beer or Wine

Margarita (Tier One only)

Flan dessert

Coffee/tea

Note: I will treat Tomatillos as a Neutral until I'm advised that they carry the same/similar lectins as Tomatoes. If you find out more, contact me, and I will edit the column to reflect that.

Another note: There's a Mexican restaurant here in San Francisco serving salads with goat cheese (!) and jicama, over which one may enjoy grilled steak or fish. Many restaurants aim to please. Keep your ears/eyes open for the gems.

More cuisines to follow, B's: Stay tuned!

I have a blind neighbor, Vicki, with whom I shared coffee the other day at a local café. Vicki is a remarkable woman who has her own radio show and is between guide dogs (they retire after 4-6 years, I think). I've known Vicki through 3 of them now.

The subject of diet came up, and I asked her her blood type. "O", she said, as she munched her scone, one hand on her "latte". It turns out that this woman, age 53, is yet another Californian intuiting the BTD in many ways.

1. She knows she needs to eat plenty of red meat and fish/seafood, and enjoys these regularly and heartily; poultry, too.

2. She knows she needs to "get pumped" every day, and already does, on her Nordic Track at home. But -- get this -- she also cross country skis for real. And she's already well aware of the anger and mood connection to aerobic fitness (cf. 8/10/06: "Two Screechin' O Cabbies") and has it under control.

3. She loves her leafy greens and berries, and avoids orange juice.

4. She's aware that wheat is problematic for her (though she hasn't yet given it up).

She still drinks coffee with cow's milk. Doesn't like soy milk at all.

I got her very jazzed about our way of life, and she plans to visit dadamo on line, via her fancy equipment/software-for-the-blind so she can fine-tune her diet (Are D'Adamo's books available in audio format?).

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Oh, and I asked her (cf. my 3/24/06 Blog: "Infantile-Americans") what she thinks of the term "visually-challenged" (or "sight-challenged") as the politically-correct replacement (euphemism?) for "blind". Suffice it to say, there was howling laughter at our table.

I just love it when she says, "Great to see you!" and "See ya later!"

Ah, the human spirit.

And, if you're reading this, Hi Vicki!

Here I go again, making things complicated. Often my dadamo blogs challenge you, the Blood Type Diet follower, to "Choose Right 4 Your Life".

One of my nieces has gone off to college for the first time. She was quite lonely in high school, feeling that the other girls were shallow and silly, while she, an introvert, took 17 Advanced Placement courses and, yes, participated in sports and many extracurricular activities, including yoga and art. Her parents encouraged her to expect a terrific social life in college, and she's indeed thriving there, adjusting well to her academic pursuits and enjoying dorm life, too. We're all so happy for her, and relieved.

Last week, my niece told me she's menstruated three times since arriving at school 6 or 7 weeks previously. I asked her if she's getting enough iron. She said she thinks so, eating plenty of meat. I do not know her blood type: She says she thinks she's "B positive". She takes her meals at the student cafeteria, a key element in her social life and adjustment. But: What is served at this cafeteria?

"Mostly chicken. I eat lots and lots of chicken". She can't remember if fish has yet been served at all. She's willing to indulge in red meat, but says it's not often offered.

My niece is not combatting any grave health challenges (that we know of!). Even assuming she has Type B blood, there's no reason to prescribe a chicken-free diet at this time, in my opinion. Our family's immediate and pressing concern in her regard is that she make friends and integrate herself into a wholesome and comfortable life there. It's just not the time to vex this child with difficult dietary prescriptions, so I don't impose any. What I told her was that she should enjoy red meats and fish (which she loves) every chance she gets, and snack on dried fruits and walnuts.

Another teenaged niece is going through a pocket of turbulence known as Anorexia Nervosa. I am loathe to impose restrictions in this case, too; we're satisfied with her enjoying and being attracted to any foods at all, for now. The fact that she's been gaining weight to please her parents - despite her own distorted body-image - is a recent positive development, not to be tampered with.

Myself, I need to lose weight, for sure. My weight gain began, and continues, as a side effect of a prescription medication whose benefits far exceed the distress of the side effect. There's a weight loss diet I've followed three or four times in my life that has been a very successful method for me, consistently, though I tend to drop it soon after I reach my target weight. (Most attrition from positive dietary programs is attributable to their restrictiveness and inconvenience. So: Make your régime MORE, not less, convenient wherever you possibly can.)

As a follower of the Blood Type Diet, I might find it easier to give temporary priority to the weight loss diet I've used successfully in the past, until reaching an acceptable target weight, and then - gradually - switching over, or adapting the BTD to what has already proven effective for my weight-control. I have, in the past, "blended" the two programs, but they combine to form an impossibly narrow path, far too constantly challenging for peace of mind and, thus, success. It seems I, too, may have to (temporarily!) unlock the door for occasional chicken and tomatoes, at least. On the road, chicken is often the only easily available protein offered. Tomato is often an ingredient in vegetable juices and sauces. If refusing chicken means I'll have no protein at all, during a given meal, I'll go for that chicken and move on.

See, I'm realizing that many BTD followers, in opting against lectins/"avoids", reject crucial and available foodgroups wholesale, during a given meal or even a whole day or more. The fastest route to B weight gain, and certainly adult female weight gain in general, is regular protein-free meals and snacks. When B's eat that way, while eating full fat dairy, starches, and low- or no- protein fats/oils, we simply must gain weight: That's Basic Science.

What's your current priority? If mine is weight loss, then I'll probably find myself eating/ordering the healthiest high-protein centered meals I can. Going protein-free at mealtime is NOT an option for me and is not compensated by some future high-protein snack or meal; one must do the best one can at each seating.

Blood Type A folks have a tendency to "stress out"; if their mealtimes become saturated with anxiety about each component's nutritive value, this, too, can be counterproductive. Neither can healthy Type O's and AB's afford to forego important food groups altogether at any time, or to beat themselves up about that cup of coffee or glass of orange juice.

My prescription is, generally:

1. Prioritize. Name your most important current life goal and aim straight for it. Achieve success. Then and only then: Tweak. Think: Dorm life for the freshman, meal attractiveness for the anorectic, etc. Your priority may indeed involve high compliance to the BTD.

2. Eat balanced meals that are as nutritious and as "beneficial" as possible without undue stress. Example: If your lunch plan calls for a fruit, choose the most "beneficial" fruit offered. If the ONLY fruit you can obtain all day is an "avoid", eat it and don't worry; it isn't poisonous. Move on.

3. Plan ahead, according to your own unique comfort level. If you can, refrigerate grabbable little Ziploc bags with Blood-Type-compliant snacks or meal adjuncts, or even larger containers of full meals. If this sort of planning or activity is too stressful for you or keeps you from other life priorities, defer this to another day or week or indefinitely. No sweat. Keep going.

4. Use dietary supplements to fill in nutritive gaps during a circumscribed health-focussed period, including "Deflect" by North American Pharmacal, or other source(s) of lectin scavengers.

"Dieting" is stressful enough. No one wins brownie points for adding difficult measures to any restrictive program. Keep your sanity, friends. Don't turn the Blood Type Diet into a major stressor. Don't allow a diet to negatively impact your higher priorities, if you have them, whether these be adolescent social adjustment, teenaged weight gain, midlife weight reduction, or anything else.

I eat to live, not vice versa; what about you? Choose Right 4 Your Life!